NEW DELHI: Bangladesh players completed their high-fives after a nervous finish and what they thought was a win in the bag. The Zimbabwe batsmen too had walked off the field. But the big screen signalled 'No Ball'. Amid dramatic scenes, umpires called the players back as the final delivery of the Zimbabwe run-chase had to be re-bowled.
There was drama galore at The Gabba towards the end of the T20 World Cup Group 2 match in Brisbane on Sunday. But Bangladesh still held their nerve better to win by three runs.
With Zimbabwe needing five to win off the last ball of their run-chase, wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan seemed to have stumped Blessing Muzarabani cleanly off Mosaddek Hossain to signal Bangladesh's win. But after members of the two teams shook hands and the stumps had been uprooted and the players had walked off the field, the umpires were still checking whether the stumping was clean.
The stumping was clean, but not the collection. The third umpire discovered that Hasan had collected the ball in front of the stumps, which is illegal and hence ruled it as a no-ball, asking the final delivery to be re-bowled. The surprised Bangladesh players couldn't believe what had just happened and made their way back onto the field.
As a result, Muzurabani got another chance to win the match for Zimbabwe off a free-hit delivery, needing four runs now off one ball. He swung hard, but couldn't connect with the ball. This time, the win was confirmed.
Bangladesh won by three runs, with Taskin Ahmed named 'Player of the Match for his spell of 3/19, which took the sting out of Zimbabwe's chase before Sean Williams (64) and Ryan Burl (27*) brought their team back into contention with a 63-run partnership.
Bangladesh had put up 150/7 on the board after opting to bat first, thanks largely to Najmul Hossain Shanto's 71 off 55 balls.
